The Washington Nationals plug a rotation hole by signing free agent Patrick Corbin. The deal is said to be for $140 million for six years.
This might not quite qualify as mystery team material, but the industry consensus seemed to be that Corbin was likely to sign with the Phillies or the Yankees, making the Nationals moving in a bit of a surprise. Now, it would be appropriate to say the Nationals didn’t need pitching given that they already have Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg at the top of the rotation. But it would probably be even more appropriate to say every team needs pitching, and signing a pitcher of Patrick Corbin’s quality does a lot to help the Nationals as they try to recapture the division after a disappointing season and the seemingly likely departure of Bryce Harper.
It’s quite possible the Nationals figure they have enough offense to win with better pitching, given that
they will still send Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto, Trea Turner, and probably Victor Robles onto the field in April. It looks to me like the Nats are paying about $7.5 million per expected WAR (I calculate 18.8 WAR for Corbin over the next six years), which is a pretty good deal. There is an injury history with Corbin, so maybe this is a little generous, but once again, Washington goes into the season with a formidable top three of the rotation.
from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2RwSmwA
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